Chris Eccleston Talks Malekith, Potential Loki Team-Up And More In THOR: THE DARK WORLD

Beyond learning a new language, Christopher Eccleston talks with Total Film mag about Malekith's motive, a possible team up with the God of Mischief, extensive make-up/costume process and more!

Did you audition for Malekith? What did Alan Taylor want for the villain?“I didn't audition, no. I was offered it after a big meeting with Alan. What did he want? That's a good question. I would imagine he wanted diligence, a bit of intelligence. Probably an indomitable spirit. On a good day, there's six hours in make-up followed by half an hour in costume, and three hours traveling. What you need is someone who can endure a bit of a marathon, because I'd do eight or nine hours before I would even go on camera.”

Did you know it was going to be so tough?“No - they kept that from me throughout the negotiation part! But the most important thing is that the audience pays their money, so you've got to live up to that. That was my whole business; that all that was worth the effort. It was for Alan Taylor that I particularly wanted to do the job. That and getting paid, of course.”

So what is Malekith's motivation? Bringing darkness to the world?“Well, it's precisely that, actually. What I thought about a great deal was revenge - there's huge amounts of revenge. ONe quote is: "When you seek revenge, be sure to dig two graves." I did a film called Revengers Tragedy where I played a guy called Vindici - from the word 'vindictive' - and he is the distillation of revenge. So, in a way, that was what I had to think of: how revenge can make you absolutely monomaniacal - though you're still trying to make it recognizably motive-led. It's just the personification of movie evil.”

Do Makekith and Tom Hiddleston's Loki team up?“I've got to tell you, there really isn't that big a connection actually, when it finally plays out. A movie comes along with a baddie, and then [for the sequel] you add another baddie to that mix. But in terms of Malekith and his maneuvering, there's not a huge amount of screen time with those two guys together. There's an implied connection - which Loki plays with - but it's not hugely developed strand in the film.”

What was it like joining the cast and crew who've already worked together?“They made a real effort, almost like a repertory of theatre actors, to make myself and Adewale feel welcome. And of course you've got to go into these things with an open heart and not with your guard up. Chris & Tom, Mr. Hopkins, all of them were fantastic with me. They've got a good sense of humor between them. I think you see that in the screen time they spend together when they're in Asgard and they're boozing and all that. I think that really does exist among them, to a certain extent.”

Were you tempted to keep anything from the shoot?“No. I used to bring home lots of latex in my ears every night [after filming]. Not sure if that counts. When you've so much and actually take something, you end up with a house full of it.”

Did sets constructed make the job easier than just green-screen?“Yeah. I think my first day was in a sequence where the Ark, Malekith's ship, suicide bombs into Asgard's main hall. And the level of detail in that was just breathtaking and extraordinary. But there's plenty of green-screen too, and I actually enjoy it. When I was a kid, before I was an actor, I used to go out into the garden and pretend I was surrounded by spaceships and pretend I was being attacked. It's just an extension of that. It's just play.”

Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. It opens in theaters November 8, 2013.

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